Via Ken Hissner: On Access Hollywood, he was interviewed and asked about meeting Muhammad Ali.
When I was in the ring with Muhammad Ali, and I really thought I was going to be in the ring with some boxer, some boxer, some tough guy, but once the bell rang, we had to face it. face to face, his presence was bigger than anything I had. faced in the ring. I have never seen anything like it until now. Calling him a great boxer is an injustice. He’s bigger than boxing, bigger than a movie star. He is something special.
He beat me and took my title in Africa. I didn’t like him anymore. I don’t talk to him. I have nothing to do with him. All I want is revenge and get my title back. But we never fight again, which is good for me. Once is enough.
I don’t want to be in the ring again with him. I thought I beat him pretty well, but around the sixth round he started screaming, “Is that all you got, George? Show me something!” That’s all I have for him forever. I want nothing to do with him. I don’t want to fight him anymore.
He calls me the Frankenstein monster. He just called me that because I was a monster. (Ask about the rope) He lay on the rope, and I, like an addict, kept punching him until I got tired. I kept punching him until I got tired.
He’s smarter than me. If I fight him again, he will be able to pull the strings again but will come up with another way. That is the way of Muhammad Ali. So smart, so smart. It’s not about his physical strength. He has the ability to do things like no other in the ring.
When asked how defeating him has changed your personality) He first called me in the late 70’s. He was forced to fight Ken Norton again, whom he can never be defeated. He complimented me for about 20 minutes. I know something was up. I don’t even know how he got my phone number.
He talks about his fight with Ken Norton again, who can never defeat him again. He said, “George, can you do me a favor. Please come back. He is afraid of you, and you can defeat him.
He is afraid of you, and you can defeat him. I will give you another title. “I told him I can’t go back now; No, I’m a preacher. We became closer and closer, and until the last days he was my best friend!
(Last asked to see him) We met in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was accepting a legacy award, and I whispered in his ear, “I want a rematch. I was robbed. I want a rematch, “just kidding him!”
It happened on October 30, 1974, in Zaire, Africa, with Ali leading with scorecards 68-66, 70-67 and 69-66 to advance to the round of 16. Foreman was exhausted as Ali finished him off as referee Zach Clayton counted Foreman off the field!
Fifteen months later, Foreman returned in a fight with Ron Lyle behind two of the cards and even on the other hand, defeating Lyle in Ring Magazine’s Fight of the Year for the vacated NABF title! Five months later, he stopped “Smokin” Joe Frazier again, this time for five rounds. Three more wins and then a loss to Jimmy Young changed his entire life. He lay on the rubbing table and had a vision, and accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior!
It will be nearly ten years from his return, making over twenty straight wins before losing to Evander Holyfield. He came back with three wins before being defeated by Tommy “The Duke” Morrison and, in addition, landed a title match against WBA and IBF champion Michael Moorer. Behind all the scoreboards after nine rounds, he knocked out Moorer in the tenth round to once again become world champion!
In his first defense, he was lucky to win a decisive majority against Axel Schulz. Another easy victory over Crawford Grimsley, only to lose to Shannon Briggs by majority decision ended his career at 48!
After defeating Foreman, Ali won ten in a row before losing to Olympian Leon Spinks. In the rematch, he regained his WBA belt and should have retired. Without a fight for two years, he lost the only equalizer in his career to WBC champion Larry Holmes. Fourteen months later, he had his last match, losing to former WBC champion Trevor Berbick in December 1981 at the age of 39!
